Kataraina

‘Words are powerful matter and Manawatu wields language like an axe against a stump … [her] writing style is reminiscent of Melissa Lucashenko, Toni Morrison, and Keri Hulme … I felt my tongue change while reading Kataraina, and the experience felt tapu (sacred) as the language tumbled down the back of my throat to the guts … a generous, expansive, masterful novel.’

-- Tara June Winch * The Guardian *

‘Kataraina is beautifully penned; interspersed with Māori language and Aotearoa/New Zealand colloquialisms … Manawatu writes to reclaim women's stories and to pay tribute to those who came before her. She tackles grief, domestic violence, intergenerational trauma, and colonisation with a sharp, compassionate eye.’

-- Danielle Bagnato * The Big Issue *

‘The narrative is confident and assured in its structure … Throughout the book, a third person perspective allows for a chorus of whānau, past and present, to tell their story … The natural environment cradles the narrative and our characters as Manawatu’s effortless figurative language is intertwined with the languages of science: lush ecology, resources and knowledge sits in the deep fabric of the environment.’

-- Jenna Todd * The Spinoff *

‘Kataraina is a refined and evocative novel written with such hospitable, attentive delicacy, steeped in the natural world … Manawatu’s writing is as intensely beautiful as it is diamond hard.’

-- Kiran Dass * The Spinoff *

‘The dialogue is outstanding. You can hear these people walking around the pages, too … There are numerous times when Manawatu ramps up the volume and intensity of her prose, electrifies it. Kataraina is the work of a major writer who could have stuck with a single storyline to create a major novel but had other things on her Mind.’

-- Steve Braunias * Newsroom *

Kataraina is less plot-driven than Auē, but has more structural and narrative depth. The two books are intrinsically intertwined in a way that strengthens them both … Kataraina gets under the hood of the culture of domestic violence, and lays it bare. This is all achieved with an ethereal vibe that seems like it ought to be incongruous with what Kat endures, but still works very well.’

-- Lauren Keenan * Newsroom *

‘Kataraina is beautifully written. The complexity of the structure and the chronology is belied by the clarity of the writing … Kataraina also excels in describing the beauty of the Kaikoura landscape and wetlands. And, beyond portraying the scenes and sounds of everyday life, Kataraina also manages to convey the inner life of its characters especially Kataraina, herself. The combination of these traits makes reading Kataraina a joyful experience.’

-- Stephen Keim * Hearsay *

‘Emotions are vivid, borne out of desperation. The novel’s setting is perfectly detailed with normal instances of family life … At times magical realism and myth actively participate; at other times they recede, waves of history and storytelling altering each other … [A] deeply affecting, multi-layered generational tale of trauma and recovery, and a strength that lives on to set grievances right.’

-- Jessie Neilson * Otago Daily Times *

‘Written in a very different style, very descriptive and poetic, it was a joy revisiting these characters. If you loved Auē then I wholeheartedly recommend reading it again just before reading this. Important connections will be easily revealed.’

-- Neale Lucas * Good Reading *

‘Manawatu’s second novel solidifies her powerful voice and astute observational prowess.’

* Denizen *

‘It's billed as a sequel, but it’s not a straightforward continuation of the narrative. Rather, the action moves across both time and space – to moments before, during and after the events of its predecessor … Kataraina is a rewarding novel that I feel will continue to reveal itself. It also ends with laughter – a ‘cool-water laughter’ – which feels like a well-deserved ending to a saga wrought with so much tragedy.’

-- Jordan Tricklebank * Māori Literature Blog *

‘Kataraina is breathtaking, swirling around a repeating incident, given form by the collective memories of members of the Te Au family … Kataraina is extremely tense in places, with its constant threat of violence, but it is also full of the love and support people, and the land, can extend … The novel has a chaotic structure that is easily navigable, with its strong recurring themes.’

* Alysonthebl